Planet Gadgets Gadget Blog

“Rock Band” From MTV To Challenge Guitar Hero

by Darren

MTV has noticed how successful “Guitar Hero” has been, so they’ve decided to launch a competing game. “Rock Band” is meant to go even further than Guitar Hero, and is MTV’s first attempt at competing in the console games arena.

“Our belief is that ‘Rock Band’ is not just a game,” said Jeff Yapp, executive vice president of program enterprises at MTV Networks Music Group. “It’s a new platform for which to engage with music, and that’s what we’re most excited about.”

“Band” is not alone in the music-gaming category, although its inclusion of multiple instruments such as guitar, drum and microphone peripherals makes it the most ambitious title to date. Activision’s “Guitar Hero III” recently racked up $100 million in sales in its first seven days of North American release, leading to concerns over how its early success would affect MTV’s game, which is being published and distributed by Electronic Arts

This will not be the last attempt at MTV entering the gaming world. Viacom invested $500 million in the unit for just such a purpose.